I’ve been busy clocking up the miles, first to The Leatherhead Club in Surrey to interview content creator Ellie Skoog, then straight from there to Burnham & Berrow Golf Club in Somerset where I stayed overnight before interviewing Ladies European Tour player Mimi Rhodes. These will form part of Golf Monthly’s Beyond Par video series that focuses on women in golf. It was lucky that we were in the middle of a mini heatwave, as this meant we could film outside. The venues provided a gorgeous setting and I’d love to return to both for a round of golf.
If you’re not familiar with Ellie on social media (@puttingwithellie), I suggest you follow her for some great tips and you’ll enjoy her trick shots. What I really like about her is that she is so authentic, highlighting golf the way it is, good and bad! She’s become the biggest golf content creator in Scandinavia, something she cannot quite believe, given that it’s not that long ago that this excellent golfer packed away her clubs for a while after becoming frustrated and disillusioned with the game.
As for Mimi, she’s the pride of Burnham & Berrow, and the members were buzzing to congratulate the tour rookie on her recent back-to-back wins on the Ladies European Tour. Although she spent most of her childhood living in Spain, it was her grandparents who first introduced Mimi and her sister Patience to golf at the prestigious club. When they later boarded at Millfield School, it became their training ground, and that’s really what drove the competitiveness between them. More than a few practice sessions ended with one of them in tears! She’s clearly adapted very well to life on tour, I suspect her laid-back personality and good humour contributes to her winning formula.
After a week of here, there and everywhere, I was looking forward to playing golf on Saturday. I’ve heard lots of complaints about the World Handicap System and I’ve got one now.
Since re-joining West Essex Golf Club last year, I’ve had to make sure I get enough cards in – 20. My best cards counting towards my handicap are from 2019, and when I started this process my handicap was 11.7. I’m not currently playing to that, and my foursomes partner definitely wants me to put in as many cards as possible to knock off the good scores!
That’s fine, I want a realistic handicap, but this means that every Saturday I have to go out with a card in my hand. WHS encourages players to put in a card every time you play, but sometimes you just want to go out, relax and have fun. It feels like an added pressure. Nobody else submits a card on a Saturday, it’s a social day, most come off at the 16th as it’s close to the clubhouse.
I understand, but I must admit, it is sometimes difficult to concentrate on my golf. I don’t really want to go out later with someone that is happy to mark a card, I enjoy the camaraderie of our Saturday group and the wine afterwards, so I guess I’ll just keep putting in the cards and see what happens!
Alison Root
Women's Editor Golf Monthly
